An Awkward Subject

 I think I am long overdue for another blog post. It is rather fascinating that people from Russia, Germany, Sweden, the UK, and Indonesia have viewed my blog, and it makes me very curious who they are and what they expected to find on my site?

As with most people, talking about money is a little, um, awkward. Especially when I am the one trying to raise it. However, as several people have expressed curiosity and interest, hopefully this blog post will answer a few questions.

First of all, of course an adoption takes money. A child, however, is priceless. My son is so precious and valuable that his Creator had His own Son die on his behalf. You can't put a dollar figure on that. My fervent prayer has been and will continue to be that my son will accept this gift of God while he is young.

That having been said, several people have asked about the puzzle fundraiser I'm having, how we are financing the adoption and if finances are holding us back in the process. Money is not holding up our process in any way. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to make this process go faster. It is entirely in the hands of the Ethiopian orphanage officials and their speed (or lack thereof) in finding and processing a child for us.

Thus far, we have been blessed to finance the adoption ourselves. God has graciously grown our business (www.LittleFamilyMembers.com), and well as provided extra work for me here and there: painting trim on a house, math tutoring, my Mary Kay business, etc. And God has provided in unique ways. A few months ago, we had completed a bundle of paperwork and were ready to send it in with a check to cover the next stage of the process. Philip warned me not to get too excited because we could not send in the check yet- the money was not in the account. We both went to prayer and later in the day, Philip came back, very confused. He had run the numbers and looked at the bills coming up, and we could write the check. There was enough money to cover everything, though it was completely unexpected! Praise God!

The front of the puzzle

As for the fundraiser, in case you have missed my FaceBook posts, fliers, and other chatter about it, we have a 1,000 piece puzzle in the shape of a lion. Here's how it works: people are sponsoring puzzle pieces for $10 each through PayPal, the "GoFundMe" on this blog, or directly to us. Their name goes on the back of the piece(s) and when complete, the puzzle will be framed between two pieces of glass. We will have a piece of art for my son's room as well as a constant reminder of the wonderful people that helped bring him home. This is the only fundraiser that we are doing to help with the adoption.

The back of the puzzle

When completed, the funds from the puzzle will cover the remaining fee that is due when we receive our referral (anytime between now and June or beyond...) as well as most of the airfare, in-country travel and other expenses, and any passport/travel visa/notary/etc expenses that we will incur.

Currently, we are at 16.9% of our fundraiser, meaning we have 169 pieces sponsored, and 831 left to go. Would you pray about being involved in our puzzle?  If we are able to complete the puzzle, then praise be to God. If not, I have complete confidence that God will provide some other way. He is good, and He has proved His faithfulness over and over again.

It is overwhelmingly encouraging the positive response we have received from our friends, family, and complete strangers. People's interest in what we are doing and their fervent prayers mean more than I can express. We are humbled by the sacrifice people have put out on our account- pieces sponsored by teens, by missionaries, by college students, family, friends, and people I've never met.

All praise goes to our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for His provision, His faithfulness, and His guidance. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and I truly rest in Him and His timing and His abundance.